Checking Up
by Saya Moonshadow
Summary: After another nightmare of what happened in Mercurius, he simply needed to see that Lucy was safe. Set right after the Sun Village arc. NaLu; Natsu x Lucy


**I** **'** **d like to say that this is for NaLu Week, and it kind of is, but I was unfortunately unable to do anything for any of the other prompts thanks to not having enough time. School and studying take priority and all that...**

 **The prompt used here is** **"** **Need** **"** **.**

 **Disclaimer: Anything you don** **'** **t recognize as canon most likely belongs to me, unless otherwise noted.** _ **Fairy Tail**_ **and all related canon are property of Hiro Mashima.**

 **Summary: After another nightmare of what happened in Mercurius, he simply needed to see that Lucy was safe. Set right after the Sun Village arc. Slight NaLu.**

 **Checking Up  
By: Saya Moonshadow**

Contrary to popular belief, Natsu did not spend the night in Lucy's bed very often. The rumor mill's tendency to run away with the tiniest amount of gossip notwithstanding, he'd really only ever slept in her bed just the once, and even then only because he was tired and still sore from eating the Etherion, and simply fell asleep waiting for her to come home and give him back his scarf.

And yes, her bed was _amazingly_ comfortable and he wasn't really averse to sharing a sleeping space with her since he trusted her so much, but she'd made it clear to him that if he and Happy slept over, they were to take the couch in the other room. He respected her wishes enough not to fight her on it, even though he'd teased her in turn that she just didn't want to share such a comfy bed and was hogging it all to herself.

He'd been raised by a dragon away from so-called "polite society", sure, but Igneel had made sure that Natsu had a passable understanding for how civilization worked (even if he'd later come to see that the dragon's knowledge of it was _very_ outdated), and knew that people could be pretty uppity about who they shared a bed with. He knew the feeling; it wasn't like he'd invite just _anyone_ to share one with him. If he trusted that person enough, then sure, but otherwise, no.

As much as he liked Lucy, liked the way she smelled and sounded and looked, until she explicitly invited him to share a bed with her, he wouldn't push it.

But tonight, it being exactly 11:34 PM, turned out to be a...special case.

He knew he was being paranoid, knew it in his bones and in his mind, but still the fear stayed—the product of yet another nightmare of what had happened in the halls of Mercurius, when the version of her who'd come from the future, battered and traumatized and missing an arm but still willing to come back and save them all, when she...she...and then she was on the ground and asking him to...

It was bad enough to have had to see it once, but it constantly replayed in his mind when he slept. The way no one had been able to react to the Rogue of the future's attack except for her own future self, who had, by some horrible miracle, been close enough to prevent the Lucy of this time from dying. But in doing so, she herself had taken the blow, and he'd had to watch as something that he hadn't quite realized he feared so badly came true.

It had almost happened once before, on Sirius Island, when she and he faced off with the man from Grimoire Heart. But things had turned out alright, and afterwards Natsu had convinced himself that never again would Lucy be in that sort of situation.

Natsu knew he was being stupid. It wasn't _his_ Lucy that had died; it was a version of her that technically no longer existed since the present (and thus, the future with it) had been altered, and when he'd gone to search for her body later on, it was nowhere to be found. But that didn't change the fact that some version of her had died, had been killed right in front of him, and he hadn't been able to do a damn thing about it.

"I'm sure she's OK," Happy said softly, perched on his shoulder.

Natsu looked at him, continuing on the path back to Magnolia from their house. More accurately, on the path to _Lucy_ _'_ _s apartment_ from their house.

"I need to check," he replied.

"Aye," Happy murmured sleepily, and Natsu felt a little bad. He hadn't wanted to wake the little Exceed up so late for something he knew was unnecessary, but it would be worse if he left him behind, and Happy was surprisingly understanding of why he felt the need to do this. Then again, he'd been there, too, and also knew what it had felt like. He didn't belittle Natsu for it, instead only offering small reassurances here and there.

Natsu didn't mention it, but he appreciated his little friend's gestures greatly.

They arrived at Lucy's apartment about half an hour later, for once bothering to use the door. He would have just used her window like they usually did, but he had a feeling she'd be less than thrilled if he suddenly vaulted into her bedroom in the middle of the night and landed on her. Or rather, if such a thing had happened _again_ , like it had early on in their friendship. He could still feel the force of the kick she'd given him for that, though she maintained that she'd mistaken him for a robber and had merely reacted. It was a fair reaction, though no less painful for the admission.

It was taking Lucy a long time to answer the door.

Despite knowing that she was probably just deeply asleep after the rough mission they'd gotten back from not even a full day before, Natsu felt horrible anxiety beginning to rise in his chest. He pushed down the feeling, knocking again, but harder this time.

Once again, though he strained to hear anything from inside her home, there was nothing.

 _What if she_ _'_ _s hurt?_ a nasty voice inside him asked. _What if someone else got here first and_ _—_

No. That hadn't happened, he _knew_ it hadn't, but now that the idea was there, it wouldn't go away.

"Lucy!" He pounded on the door, hard.

"She's probably asleep," Happy said, but Natsu could hear uncertainty and, yes, a little bit of nervousness in his voice, too. It didn't help his own steadily increasing panic.

If she didn't come to the door in the next two seconds, then he was going through the window, unwanted intrusion or not. It was a slight chance, he knew it was, but if she indeed _was_ hurt and he didn't do something to save— _help_ her, he'd never forgive himself.

The scene of her future self lying on the ground, having bled to death from the attack that killed her, filled his mind, but the image of the future Lucy was soon replaced with that of _his_ Lucy in her halter-top and skirt combo, her pigtails stained dark with her own blood. The X-shaped scar on his side where the future Rogue had sliced him throbbed.

Natsu had just turned to go climb the wall up to her window, practically vibrating with nerves and anger towards any imagined thing that might have hurt her, when the door opened behind him and a voice rough with sleep called out uncertainly, "Natsu? What are _you_ doing here?"

He whirled back around, face ashen but relief filling him at the same time. A quick scan of her pajama-clad body revealed that her worst problem was fatigue—she looked exhausted and he was sorry to have interrupted the deep sleep she'd probably been in, but was too relieved to feel much else.

"It's...past midnight!" Lucy groaned, checking the clock on her wall, a miniature version of Horologium that Laki had made for her some time ago. She ran a hand through her sleep-mussed hair, narrowing bloodshot eyes at both him and Happy. "Is everything alright? I swear, if this is some kind of—"

"Can we stay here tonight?" He interrupted her with practiced ease, knowing that she wasn't too upset by their intrusion, at least not yet.

She blinked owlishly at him, not comprehending. "Why would you want to do that?" she asked. "You've got a perfectly good house and bed of your own, don't you?"

"I had a bad dream," Happy piped up, causing Lucy to look at him. The Exceed grinned at her shyly, pressing his paws together. "I asked Natsu if we could come here because you've got fish in the fridge and there's nothing better than a fish for nightmares, and he said yes. Sorry if we woke you up..."

Lucy's glare softened instantly, though thankfully she didn't notice Natsu turning his head to stare incredulously at his tiny partner. Why the hell had he felt the need to do that? It wasn't like Lucy would kick them out; she hadn't done that in ages, and if he explained why he'd felt the need to come here, he was sure that...

 _...sure that reminding her of watching herself die will only hurt her, you moron._

They hadn't really talked about it, but he knew it had affected her badly, too—she'd had at least one nightmare of that day, though he only knew this because his hearing was so good. On the last mission they'd been on, he'd heard her in the throes of it, and had been about to go and wake her up when Wendy, who was sharing a tent with her, beat him to it.

He wasn't sure he was exactly ready to talk about it, either, if he were to be perfectly honest with himself. Maybe he wouldn't ever want to. It was just the way he was; when something bad happened, he grieved alone and then pressed onwards with a single-minded determination. Not exactly coping, but it was better than dwelling on it when there were other things that needed to be done.

"Of course," Lucy sighed, reaching out and taking Happy from his shoulder. The cat cuddled into her, giving Natsu an apologetic look as she beckoned him inside and closed the door behind them. "Just give me a second, I'll see what I can find..."

Natsu followed her into her kitchen, eyes glued to her face. Her movements were slow thanks to how tired she was, and she kept yawning hugely as she prepared a couple slices of smoked salmon on a plate for Happy, but she was whole and healthy and alive. Still had both arms, and there was no blood to be seen. His nightmare had not come true; was only ever just that: a bad dream. It was reason enough to be thankful.

But the anxiety wouldn't fully leave him, even after he'd scanned her for the fifteenth time for any hidden signs of, well, anything. Just because she was OK _now_ , that didn't necessarily mean she'd _stay_ that way...

"Natsu?"

Once again her voice interrupted the dark feelings rising up within him. He gave her a grin that felt and probably looked strained, hearing the unspoken _"_ _are you OK?_ _"_.

"I'm fine," he assured her. "Just thinkin' about stuff."

"You, thinking?" Lucy quipped, setting the plate in front of Happy, who pounced on it immediately.

"Yeah, every once in a while it happens. Who knew, huh?"

"Don't get used to it," Happy told her through a mouthful of fish.

She snorted out a laugh, making him want to grin even as he glared good-naturedly at his Exceed for the comment. Gods, but this girl was so important to him. It had hurt seeing how despairing and terrified her future self was, almost like he was looking at a different person. But her caring and determination to make things right were still there, and he'd known it was really her from the moment she'd told them all just what she was going to do.

Once Happy finished with his fish and was sitting on the kitchen table while sleepily washing his whiskers, Lucy let out a yawn. Natsu once again felt bad for waking her up when she so clearly needed the sleep, but at least he knew for a fact that she wasn't hurt or, gods forbid, in any form of trouble. It was worth the lecture he was sure to get in the morning once she was awake enough to remember that she was supposed to be annoyed with them for it.

"OK, then," she murmured tiredly. "I think I'm gonna go back to bed. The couch is over there, so you two can—"

"I wanna sleep with you!" The words burst out, and he knew they sounded completely wrong even as he spoke them. Lucy's suddenly red face made this excruciatingly clear.

"E-excuse me?" she stammered.

Happy let out what sounded suspiciously like a smothered giggle, paws clamped over his mouth.

"I mean..." Natsu floundered for a second, knowing that if he didn't come up with something then she'd definitely take his words the wrong way as she was very obviously on the verge of doing. He'd come here to make sure she was safe, not piss her off! "I mean...it's just that...your couch is really lumpy! It's hard to sleep on something like that!" This was a lie: her couch was actually quite nice and he'd easily slept on less comfortable surfaces, but it was the best he could think of on such short notice. "And, uh...your bed is really good, a lot better than the couch, and I'll even sleep above the covers if you want, but yeah!"

If she agreed, then this would be the first _actual_ time they shared a bed. He was aware that there were certain societal expectations and no-no's that came along with it, but at the time he simply could not have given less of a crap about any of that.

His nightmare still fresh in his mind, he simply needed to make sure she was safe. To be able to reach out and feel her there, and have immediate confirmation that his dreams were only dreams, and she was still the same Lucy that she had always been. Alive, and not looking up at him with eyes filled with hopeless grief for the things she'd seen...things his own future self had been unable to protect her from. She was strong and could handle herself very well, but no one should have to go through what she had all alone.

Something of what he was feeling must have shown in his face, because Lucy's eyes softened for the second time that night. He wouldn't put it past her to know, at least on some level, what was really going on.

"OK," she acquiesced, "but you're sleeping on top of the covers. And no funny business, either of you, you understand?"

Of course it went without saying that Happy would be there, too. Natsu grinned at her in answer to her question, and after scooping up Happy from the kitchen table and leaving the plate where it lay, he followed Lucy into her bedroom.

He was planning to wait until she was situated under the covers again, but upon seeing her scooting towards the window, he rolled her over and flopped down there himself on his back, careful not to squish Happy. "Window's mine," he told her brightly when she made a protesting noise.

Instead of making a fuss, Lucy merely rolled her eyes and then snuggled down into her comforter, probably too tired to even ask. He curled up as well, and, with Happy purring quietly between them, they both fell asleep.

There were no nightmares this time around.


End file.
